Sharapova vrooms into Australian Open quarters

Melbourne: Maria Sharapova continued her dominating display at the Australian Open, advancing to the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kirsten Flipkens to set a tournament record for the fewest number of games lost through four rounds.

Sharapova has lost only five games in four matches at Melbourne Park, including a pair of 6-0, 6-0 results - 24 games in a row - ahead of her third-round win over Venus Williams in which she dropped four games.

Her 6-1, 6-0 win over Flipkens set a tournament record of fewest number of games lost through four rounds.

At the 1989 Australian Open, eventual champion Steffi Graf lost eight games en route to the quarter-finals, the previous best mark for fewest games lost through four rounds, a record later equalled by Monica Seles.